That didn't take long...

[Juice]

Bought the car in January, and got my first ticket in it today! I was cited for SC VC 56-5-2110, which states: "No person shall start a vehicle which is stopped, standing or parked unless and until such movement can be made with reasonable safety."

What really happened? Bicycle cop in downtown Charleston said I took off from a light too fast, even though I didn't even chirp the tires and didn't exceed the 25mph speed limit. How that's even possible is beyond me, but hey, I'm not a cop. Not to mention the fact that they caught up to me to pull me over...

Anyway, gotta show up to court on the 15th. I don't really see any way out of it since it's their word vs mine, but that's life!

[LANDY]

i did that oe time and they gave me a ticket for careless driving.
it sucks.
i just paid the ticket and did the school over the internet.

[Mr. Man]

I would have embellished a bit about the bicycle cop. More like "the cop on the Harley police motorcycle had his bike wide open to catch up to me." Being pulled over by a bicycle cop isn't cool dude. :lol: Good luck in court.:)

[knine]

Caught by a bicycle cop? :o Dude, seriously........... turn in your man card.
http://www.pvponline.com/comics/pvp20090203.gif

[a_d_a_m]

If you can't waive it and have to show up in court anyway, I would fight it a little bit.

[Juice]

Caught by a bicycle cop? :o Dude, seriously........... turn in your man card.


I know, I know... They may have heard me say to my buddy, "A *****ing bike cop, are you kidding me?"


If you can't waive it and have to show up in court anyway, I would fight it a little bit.

I'm going to try, but they are holding all the cards. That part of the VC looks very open to interpretation, so that makes it easier for them to write me up for whatever they think isn't safe. Granted, my car is exceedingly loud. When I take off, it sounds like I'm gunning it, even though I didn't break traction or exceed the speed limit. I guarantee if I didn't have that exhaust I never would have been stopped. There isn't an exhaust law for cars that I can see though, so maybe they just wanted to get me on something else.

[Phrog_gunner]

Get a traffic lawyer. They can usually get small stuff like that knocked down to a non-moving violation with ease. I had to take one of my Marines to traffic court in NC and those lawyers would just walk up with a pile of tickets to the ADA and say "I need 8 knocked down to improper equipment". The ADA didn't even LOOK at the tickets, someone could have been getting off from vehicular manslaughter for all she knew, and said OK.

[Spectragod]

Fight it, that's a chicken***** stop, go plead not guilty, if you want to make them mad, choose to stand mute, that way they have to enter a plea of not guilty for you, if it's a kangaroo court(i.e. Mayor's court), I would do just that.

There will be a second court date, the officer will have to show up, if he doesn't, it will be dismissed, if he does show, and it is Mayor's court, go for a venue change, county court would be good, but your location will dictate the change of court houses.

Good luck, let us know what shakes loose.

[Black_Out]

lol what a ridiculous ticket. Definitely go plead not guilty and fight to get that dropped.

[Black_Out]

That is, unless the ticket is super cheap, in which case just pay it and be done with it.

[LeoVampire]

They will drop the ticket you got and give you one for excessive noise instead.

Unless it is a ticket that put's point's against your license which would raise your insurance it is not worth fighting it.

[-Matt-]

You didnt "accidentally" give him your military ID?

[CBT]

LMAO! knine this is just plain police brutality for you to post this!


Caught by a bicycle cop? :o Dude, seriously........... turn in your man card.
http://www.pvponline.com/comics/pvp20090203.gif

I would go to court, if you really really did nothing wrong, why not defend yourself. After all, this is America, you can still do that. I've only gotten 1 ticket in my life I didn't deserve, but the cost was so low I said forget it and just paid it. But I still don't like it after almost 20 years. It was the only time I've ever been pulled over by a motorcycle copster. Actually, he didn't even pull me over, he was standing in the middle of the friggin road when I came around a curve doing all of 10 miles an hour in a 15 MPH zone in a damn state park in Florida. He asked if I knew why he stopped me. I honestly thought his motorcycle quit or something. My first response was "Because you need a ride." No. Second response was "Did I run over an animal?" Being as it was a state park, I thought I ran over an endangered squirrel or something equally as crazy. He said "Speeding!" I busted out laughing, because I knew it just had to be a hidden camera type prank. But, he was serious. I'll never forget NOT fighting that one.

[Juice]

That is, unless the ticket is super cheap, in which case just pay it and be done with it.

$185


They will drop the ticket you got and give you one for excessive noise instead.

Unless it is a ticket that put's point's against your license which would raise your insurance it is not worth fighting it.

The officer said this is a 4 point violation.


You didnt "accidentally" give him your military ID?

He asked if I was military when I handed him my license, then asked for my pay grade and CO's name. He knew what he was doing.


I would go to court, if you really really did nothing wrong, why not defend yourself.

I'm not going to lie, I purposely drive around downtown in 1st to keep the RPMs up so the engine sings loud and proud. I keep it under 25 all the time, so it tops out at about 3k.

I'm not going to deny that I was showboating, because that's exactly what I was doing. I was not, however, doing anything unsafe. I had positive control the whole time, never broke traction, and never exceeded the posted speed limit. That is an extremely pedestrian heavy area, I'm too afraid I'll hit someone if I go speeding around.

The problem with doing that is it makes it look and sound like I'm really getting into it, but I'm not actually going any faster than any other car out there. Unfortunately for me, perception is reality in this case, and I fear that it's simply going to boil down to their word against mine and I'm screwed. I don't really have any evidence to prove that I didn't do what they said, so I don't see a way out of it.

[LeoVampire]

Sucks especialy the part of the points against your license!

[CBT]

Yep I'd go to court, what have you got to lose.

[knine]

Yep I'd go to court, what have you got to lose.
True dat. The pride was already lost being stopped by the bicycle. :rolleyes:

[Black_Out]

IMO this is still America and you have the right to enjoy your car. Police get ridiculous with some of the laws they enforce. Everything has a technicality they can nab you on.

[Big Black Beast]

Plead not guilty, and with any luck, the usuing officer will realize what a chickens**t ticket this is and not show up. He's probably some kind of enviro-fag, and he's mad at you because you aren't driving a Prius. Fight this, otherwise he's just going to keep pulling BS like this. If everybody just pays the ticket, it just gives them more incentive to issue as many as they can, for any reason they can think of. That's why they try every step of the way to make it easier for uou to pay your way out. That's waht they want. Easy money justified in the name of "safety".

[MrBluGruv]

I think karma has made up for the number of stupid tickets I've gotten by allowing me to get away with some REALLY stupid ****. I'm a very lucky man. Any way about it, I'm REAL careful to not do stuff that could land me in any kind of legal trouble. Hell, I'm about the only person that obeys the speed limit on the highways I travel around here. I'm waiting for the day I'm ticketed for impeding traffic going 70mph. lol.

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

This is why in my wise old age of 26, I have realized, just keep the exhaust quiet. I used to drive around with loud exhausts, showboating as you say, downshifting to make noise, when I was in high school but I eventually realized, not one person cares what your car sounds like, except the cops. Anyone else will just think you're a tool for making noise. And as you found out, having a loud car makes cops come looking for you. It's much more fun to have a car that's quiet enough that you can speed, without attracting attention. At least it's how I see it. Good luck

[MrBluGruv]

^ I think I'm slowly getting there myself.

I'm putting a couple cats back on the exhaust but putting cut outs ahead of them, so that way I'm quiet when I need to be but loud if I want to be. Of course, the latter will be getting much less drive time, I don't think the missus would care too much for open-manifold exhaust. ;)

[jflave]

Bad the bicyle cop caught you, real bad if she says that to you. :)

[bob6364]

4 BLESSED POINTS!!!! You better fight that one thats huge...

[Juice]

Just for reference, here is a video of me driving from the intersection where they said I took off too fast from to the exact spot they stopped me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9s9rbeIork

The thing that this tells me is that they had to be hauling ass to catch up to me on bicycles, or there is no way in hell I was taking off or driving too fast. I don't know if anything like this is admissible, but I figured I'd give you guys a better picture of what happened.

View it in HD if you have broadband! :)

[twin03]

Show up in your military uniform. Trust me, it works..

[Juice]

I was planning on in since I don't really have anything else to wear anyway.

[breeze]

Show up in your military uniform. Trust me, it works..


I was planning on in since I don't really have anything else to wear anyway.

go commando, juge will love you for it...:puke:

[SILVERSURFER03]

Good luck ... Id go to try to beat the points 4 wow that is steep as i said good luck and it sounds like so real good advice going on here

[-Matt-]

Show up in your military uniform. Trust me, it works..


I dont know about the Navy but thats a big no-no in the Airforce... Who wants to see military men in uniform in court anyways, shows a bad example.

[Phrog_gunner]

I dont know about the Navy but thats a big no-no in the Airforce... Who wants to see military men in uniform in court anyways, shows a bad example.

I'd say anywhere not around a Marine base, wearing it could work. Around our bases they just get sick of seeing Marines. One thought is you will get leniency, another thought is you are expecting special treatment. I had to go to court with one of my Marines and he wore civilian clothes (which makes it no less obvious that we are Marines) and told him that if the judge asked why he wasn't in uniform to say that he didn't want any special treatment. Some food for thought.

[-Matt-]

I'd say anywhere not around a Marine base, wearing it could work. Around our bases they just get sick of seeing Marines. One thought is you will get leniency, another thought is you are expecting special treatment. I had to go to court with one of my Marines and he wore civilian clothes (which makes it no less obvious that we are Marines) and told him that if the judge asked why he wasn't in uniform to say that he didn't want any special treatment. Some food for thought.


Yep.... what he said...

[Juice]

My command said I have to, so it doesn't really matter anyway.

[k9cinco]

Tell them you transmission wasnt shifting so you were trying to force more fluid into the valve body to increase the pressure. Ask the judge to ask the officer if he felt your engine was reving high, an honest officer would say yes...then you say, well see....I was just trying to make the trans shift. Go get a transmission service with a receipt... You will probably beat it

[Juice]

Eh, I don't really want to fabricate a story. I'd rather tell the truth and beat it fair and square if I can. Considering the distance from the intersection to where I was stopped, I don't see how I was driving unsafely for them to be able to catch up to me.

[sailsmen]

Fight it and write to your State Congressmen.

300,00 New Laws have been passed in just 20 years, that's right 300,000.
In the Federal Register there are 4,000 laws in the Criminal Code.

Soon it will be easier to tell us what to do instead of what not to do.

[Big Black Beast]

Tell them you transmission wasnt shifting so you were trying to force more fluid into the valve body to increase the pressure. Ask the judge to ask the officer if he felt your engine was reving high, an honest officer would say yes...then you say, well see....I was just trying to make the trans shift. Go get a transmission service with a receipt... You will probably beat it

That sounds like an excuse and won't work...he has to beat it on the grounds it was based and whether it was justified. Unfortunately, most of the laws are so poorly and vaguely written intentionally, so that it's really set up so they can get you for practically anything if they really want to.

[Houpty GT]

I beat my Unsafe Start ticket yesterday in Orangeburg court. They refer to it as "Improper start" which I think helps them hand it out more liberally. I read the statute, stated that I took every precaution before I started, and that it was in no way unsafe what so ever. I also had pictures that showed there were no marks on the road from my supposed tire spinning all the way through the intersection. They are going to have to show that you were unsafe, so mention anything that will show your conduct as safe. Good luck.

[Juice]

Went to court today! Got the ticket dismissed!

The judge said getting stopped by a bicycle cop was embarrassing enough. Awesome old man. :D

Gotta give credit to the officer though, even in court he noted how nice my car was. :cool:

[LeoVampire]

Went to court today! Got the ticket dismissed!

The judge said getting stopped by a bicycle cop was embarrassing enough. Awesome old man. :D

Gotta give credit to the officer though, even in court he noted how nice my car was. :cool:

Time for a little celibration when your not drivin though! :beer:

[Big Black Beast]

Went to court today! Got the ticket dismissed!

The judge said getting stopped by a bicycle cop was embarrassing enough. Awesome old man. :D

Gotta give credit to the officer though, even in court he noted how nice my car was. :cool:

Yes! Go do some donuts to celebrate!:rolleyes:

[Houpty GT]

Yes! Go do some donuts to celebrate!:rolleyes:

Insert donut Police joke here.